Ryker grinned.
This feeling, it was the best in the world and he wouldn’t trade it for anything else. In fact, at the moment, he almost felt that his 18 years of suffering were worth it, if for no other reason that it gave him the opportunity to explode forth with greater strength than he had ever been able to imagine before.
The carnage that laid before him was almost surreal, not due to the damage itself, but the fact that it was power that rested in his own hands. He and his partner had done this, and they would do far more in the future.
No one would be able to stop them.
“Come!”
Ryker’s roar was layered with [Soul Ripple]. It spread so far and wide that it seemed to fuse with the trembling of the city, making others see and feel him from dozens of kilometers away.
The Ascension Realm experts weakly stood. Their injuries weren’t light in the slightest, but they weren’t on their death beds either.
Ryker’s roar caused their faces to twist with a mixture of rage and fear. How long had they been at the pinnacle of the world? Even the Enlightened Empire, at least in part, had to take them seriously. But who was this youth?
“Is the Empire sure that they want to do this?” Nyx kept his rage and fear out of his voice, tempering his tone to imbue it with the majesty of a man who had ruled for decades. “My Shadow Clan, the Sage Clan and the Emerald Kingdom have all signed a pact. The fact you’ve attacked us today means all out war.”
Ryker’s laughter echoed through the skies, causing the four’s expression to contort with confusion. This was a very serious matter. If the Enlightened Empire could take it so casually, they would have attacked already.
“The Enlightened Empire? Tying me in with that kind of trash is going to get you killed.”
Fire Phoenix inhaled.
Fire Control. It was a talent with similar but far weaker effects in comparison to Earth Reborn. Its sole purpose was to control flames that had already been formed.
At that moment, a large amount of the buildings and land in the surroundings had been pillaged by a beam of spiraling flames. Why waste more Spirit Energy to create more when he could just use them?
A swirling ball of flames quickly formed before Fire Phoenix’s maw again. With a pulse of their neck, and a dancing of runes, it shot forward, appearing before the four Ascension Realm experts in an instant.
Nyx grit his teeth. “Dammit! We’ll use a formation, Grimshell you are the vanguard! Morgrim you will take up the rear! Vexen, with me!”
The four had already forgotten the last time they had to use such a formation, but that didn’t mean they were slow. In fact, the moment the word formation came from Nyx’s mouth, Grimshell had already surged forward, taking up the vanguard before he was even asked.
They were all experienced. They knew that while Ryker’s initial attack was shockingly powerful, there had to be a limit to how often he could use it, not to mention the casting time on top of that. Not only did they have to defend, but they had to ensure that he didn’t get another room to launch another assault of that level.
If Ryker had more than one Spirit Beast, it would have truly been troublesome. But since there was only him, there was a chance!
Morgrim’s raven soared into the skies. Quickly, his pupils dilated to the point they enveloped his irises and then his sclera. His eyes became a bottomless abyss that perfectly reflected the gaze of his raven.
The raven beast cawed and flapped its wings, ascending higher and higher into the skies.
Grimshell’s turtle beast huddled up and activated a technique that formed a revolving shield of Dark Type Spirit Energy. The moment he solidified his stance, the fireball collided against the shield, blowing the beast back several steps.
Nyx and Vexen dashed forward, one coming from the left and the other from the right of Grimshell. They didn’t wait for the sparks of Fire Type Spirit Energy to dissipate before they and their beasts moved, the former with a vicious python and the latter with a demonic oxen.
‘Interesting,’ Ryker analyzed all of this calmly, his gaze looking up to the raven beast in the skies. ‘He should be their lynchpin. If he falls, all of this falls as well. A shame, I didn’t kill them initially because their deaths aren’t useful to me, they’re better off alive. Hm…’
Ryker’s thoughts moved like the wind and his chain and whip suddenly flourished.
[Whip Like Shield].
[Chain Like Shield].
Accelerate.
Ryker didn’t react like he normally would. Instead, he sent out a black of energy that repelled the two Ascension Realm experts trying to pincer him, then he had Phoenix shoot backward.
His gaze flickered as he calculated many things, and then he felt it.
Morgrim slapped his palms together and a Domain took shape. But it was no normal Ascension Domain, but one that weaved together the power of all four experts.
As expected, Morgrim was their lynchpin. He followed a support path, which was extremely interesting considering his Dark Type affinity. Usually, Dark Type Spirit Energy was more adept at using curses. But then again, support and cursing were just two opposite sides of the same coin.
CAW!
A shriek came from the raven in the skies and dozens of dark arrows formed. Seemingly not worried about hitting Nyx or Vexen, they fell down in a torrent.
Ryker’s gaze flashed and his arms danced.
PA! PA! PA!
His chain and whip blurred in the skies, lashing out again and again. Every time they landed, an arrow would shatter into a rain of what looked like black fire, corroding the air further and increasing the density of Dark Type Spirit Energy in the surroundings.
The flames that coated the region were slowly waning even as they were tinged with a malevolent black aura. At the same time, the world seemed to be becoming darker and darker. The shade of the ancient tree that stood above their city was somehow become deepening.
Grimshell’s beast suddenly burst forward and appeared before Phoenix and Ryker, using the very same unique movement technique that had let him escape in the first place. The turtle beast’s head was surrounded with a swirl of menacing Spirit Energy as it rammed forward, trying to tackle Phoenix in a head on head collision.
‘Phoenix, Tank,’ Ryker commanded calmly.
Phoenix’s claws seemed to root themselves into the earth. If the Ascension Realm experts used their Domains to sense the situation, they would suddenly feel that there was no difference between Phoenix and the earth at all, almost as though they had become one.
BANG!
The turtle beast rammed right into Phoenix’s chest, but it was as though it had hit a brick wall. Grimshell almost lost his footing and he was quite lucky that Ryker’s chain and whip were occupied by the rain of arrows, or else he might have lost his life right then and there.
The duo were sent flying back even faster than they had come. Tank could perfectly reflect damage, and if the disparity in strength was too great, they could even increase it. The turtle beast had almost shattered its own skull just now.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Even so, that had created an opening for Nyx and Vexen who still circled in from the left and right.
Vexen’s oxen unleashed another charge skill, similar to Grimshell’s turtle, but far more powerful. At the same time, Nyx and his python seemed wreathed in black lightning, streaking forward like a sword through the skies.
Ryker could sense the aura of the fused Domain landing on them, increasing their strength several times over.
A smile crept onto Ryker’s face, his excitement billowing forth like a tempestuous light from his eyes. He seemed to be capable of seeing through the entire world, nothing could pause his steps.
“I understand it. Now, be sealed.”
Ryker’s voice was akin to the command of a god. Chains rushed out from his body, shooting up into the skies so fast that Morgrim didn’t even have time to tell his raven beast to dodge.
Ryker didn’t have to manifest the chest from out of his body like this, he could form them from thin air within a certain range. However, there was no doubt that the ones that came from his body were the most powerful, and with his soul strength… they were entirely unable to resist.
He was a 9th Enlightenment Realm expert now… he didn’t need to use Temporal Weave to deal with these people.
They were never a match for him.
The raven beast was suddenly wrapped by gorgeous silvery blue chains that pulsed with ancient runes. It thought that its flight would be affected, or that it would be weighed down, but it quickly realized that the chains were illusory and didn’t impact it hardly at all.
Just when it was feeling confused, it noticed that it had lost its connection to Morgrim and that its Domain skill wasn’t working anymore.
All four Ascension Realm experts felt their power plummet in a single instant.
Nyx’s expression flashed with determination and he ordered his beast to continue the assault. At this point, his black lightning was the only thing they had left that might work.
Vexen didn’t falter either, urging his oxen forward with greater speed.
One from the left and the other from the right, they moved with the intention of giving up their lives if they have to.
“In front of absolute strength, you couldn’t even commit suicide if you wanted to.”
Ryker’s voice calmly drifted into their ears.
“Phoenix, use Focused Push.”
Wind Phoenix roared. Raising a claw, he smashed it down into the ground.
A swirling sphere of wind took shape. It started off barely surrounding Phoenix and Ryker before it accelerated outward with the force of a sonic boom.
BANG!
The two were sent flying before they could even get close. The power of Focus Push was so far beyond what it had been in the past that a crater was torn up from the earth, leaving a pit of despair.
Earthen Pillar.
The earth rumbled and Phoenix formed a pillar beneath them that rose them high into the skies. Soon, they were taller than even the city walls had once been.
Ryker raised a hand and Divined Chains flourished, falling down in streams. Every time they touched down, the group would feel another piece of their strength be ripped from them, almost as though their lives were being chipped away at, piece by piece. Eventually, even the raven in the sky couldn’t fight any longer.
They lay on the ground, beaten and bloodied, unable to even muster up the courage to fight back as even their Spirit Energy was sealed within the Dantians. It seemed that without Ryker’s permission… even cultivating in the future would be impossible.
From start to finish, they never stood a single chance.
**
Ryker stood in a familiar military room, not his own, but one that he had conveniently found after infiltrating the Shadow Clan. It had the very same map that Nyx and the others had been looking at.
At the moment, the four Ascension Realm experts were standing in a corner, not able to make much noise—Vexen had lost them that right.
Ryker didn’t want to kill them just yet, but if he kept letting them spout the endless stream of nonsense they had been, he’d lose his temper sooner or later. So he felt that this was the best outcome.
Other than those four, there were just Patience, Sofia, Rosemary and Desmond by his side. They kept looking at Nyx and the others, seemingly not believing that they had made it this far.
Patience was especially shocked, because she knew far more than the others. These were the men that had cast such a long shadow over her Federation for so long, and yet here they were, tied up like dogs.
It was surreal.
After a while of analyzing the map, Ryker spoke.
“You four really are a bunch of idiots.”
This map was far more detailed than anything the Federation had.
In a primitive world like this one, maps were exceptionally valuable, and those with access to them were only the noblest of men and women.
Even in a more advanced world like Ryker’s own the frequently distributed maps would almost always have redacted portions. Of course, the common man wouldn’t be aware of that, but information was a dangerous thing. If you were smart, you would gatekeep some of it.
This aside, the actions of the Shadow Clan had made sense when he was looking at the Federation maps, but looking at their more detailed maps, he felt like their parents had dropped them on their heads as children.
Vexen’s temper flared up again, but the Divined Chains had sealed off his vocal cords. He couldn’t speak even if he wanted to.
“The Enlightened Empire obviously doesn’t fear you. The only reason you’re alive is because of the existence of this stretch of wilderness. But instead of taking advantage of that, you’re nibbling around the edges and hoping for the best. Do you think conquering the Federation was going to change anything substantially? Why would you think a power you assumed you could conquer with a hundred men would make a meaningful change to your strength?
“If you’re not willing to take risks, how are you going to accomplish anything?”
Looking at the deployment around the Enlightened Wilderness, Ryker’s face twisted with disgust. He hated cowards.
On the other hand, he had respect for people like Desmond who put their lives on the line for improvement. He hadn’t even carried any hatred for the man even though he had tried to kill him. As far as Ryker was concerned, that was just the way of the cultivation world.
As for why he held it against Rosemary for doing effectively the same thing, it was because in his eyes, they weren’t nearly the same at all.
Desmond acted to improve his talent and protect his family.
Rosemary lashed out to kill because she was a child cosplaying as a mature and empathic woman. Even she probably didn’t understand how much of a dullard she was.
“Ah, at least this is outlined,” Ryker grinned, his gaze landing on a particular region.
If he was correct, that volcanic region should have a pipeline to the Earth Flame he was looking for.
So long as he could find a flame strong enough to melt the materials that formed this prison’s library, then he should be able to get the raw materials he needed to fix the foundation of the silver mirror. Then, he would finally be able to help it evolve into a treasure that had some real use to him.
Everyone of this world thought he only had one contract, but only he knew he actually had two, and this damned useless mirror actually occupied more Circles than Phoenix.
But all of that would change very soon. He was almost certain that the raw materials that constructed those chunks of metal he had collected would have what he needed, and if they didn’t… well, he now had a path to enter each and every Iteration until he found exactly what he needed.
‘On this trip, I’ll also break into the Ascension Realm. Then, I will return home.’
Ryker’s gaze flashed with a malevolent light. The matters of this prison hadn’t made him forget what he had experienced in the Valorian Clan. Every debt had their debtor, and everything would be handled in their due time.
In fact, crushing his enemies back home might help him breakthrough even faster.
The difference was that the people of his world were on an entirely different level. He couldn’t treat them so casually. A normal Ascension Realm expert on his world would have at least four beasts on the same level, and that was on the lower end. His own father had nine 6th Circle beasts, using up all his Circles perfectly.
Right now, Ryker still only had Phoenix because he was unwilling to contract trash. This was why the Silver Mirror’s evolution was even more important to him.
“Patience, you’ll be in charge here.”
Patience was caught off guard by the sudden words.
“What?”
“Yes, you’ll be in charge. This city has a special formation rooted in their ancient tree, I’ll teach you how to use it. Your Soul Talent is more than good enough to handle it, and with these four sealed, they won’t be a threat to you.”
Patience wanted to reject, but she bit her tongue, closing her eyes. Ryker had done so much for her and he had already more than lived up to his promise. In fact, even thinking of the promise left a bitter taste in her mouth, she really didn’t like that their relationship had started in such a way. She even hoped that they could go back and pretend it never happened.
He wanted to be an Emperor, he didn’t want to have useless women by his side. If she couldn’t do at least this much, wouldn’t she be worse than useless?
She opened her eyes. “Yes, I’ll definitely do it.”
Ryker smiled and began to guide her.
…
“How’s the soul method I gave you working out?” Ryker asked Desmond.
“Better than I could have ever imagined. The headaches have already stopped and I feel like I can contract beasts again.”
Ryker nodded. After his experiments on Patience’s father, he had come up with a cultivation method. His method to improve soul talent was still in the works, but it seemed the method to heal and progress soul strength was working perfectly.
He really had to thank those arrogant bastards for locking them in this open air prison, or else he would have never come up with methods even with a lifetime of learning.
“On this trip, I’ll see if I can capture any infant beasts for you,” Ryker said casually.
Desmond’s eyes widened with pleasant surprise. He didn’t expect Ryker to say this.
“You… is there a reason?” Desmond finally asked.
“A reason?” Ryker raised an eyebrow.
“You seem to take me around a lot when you don’t need to. I thought you were…”
Ryker gave Desmond a side glance. “I’m only interested in women.”
Desmond coughed out a breath of relief. He didn’t have any issues with a person’s sexual preference, but the issue was that he was a straight man as well. He had already given up too much of his dignity to stay by Ryker’s side, he couldn’t give up that much of it.
“Don’t think too much about it,” Ryker chuckled and turned to leave. “I do as I please and even I don’t put that much thought into it. Some people want power for the sake of the power alone, some want it for the sake of money, I want it only for the freedom.
“No one will be able to restrain me nor my desires in this life. I’ve been repressed for 18 years…
“Never again.”
Ryker vanished.